Public Statements

House Passes the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act

Statement

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1872, the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014, sponsored by Congressman Scott Garrett of New Jersey. This bill would require the Congressional Budget Office to use fair-value accounting for government loans and federal credit programs so taxpayers can better understand the risks behind Washington's decisions. The bill would also require the Office of Management and Budget to be more honest about the costs associated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Upon passage of the legislation, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin issued the following statement:

"The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would force Washington to be upfront about the cost of its decisions. I want to thank Congressman Garrett for sponsoring this bill. Thanks to his hard work, we will make sure that Washington spends taxpayers' money wisely. Today's vote is just one more sign that House Republicans are committed to fixing the broken budget process."